SS Arandora Star 1940
Marker: recorded wreck position (Second World War).
Key facts
| Name | SS Arandora Star | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1940 | Wikidata P793 significant event, point-in-time qualifier |
| Era | Second World War | derived from year |
| Ship type | cruise ship | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Cause of loss | War action | Keyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence |
| Conflict | Arandora Star disaster | Wikidata P607 conflict |
| Sea / ocean | North Atlantic Ocean | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Position | 55.3333, -10.5500 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
SS Arandora Star, originally SS Arandora, was a British passenger ship of the Blue Star Line. She was built in 1927 as an ocean liner and refrigerated cargo ship, converted in 1929 into a cruise ship and requisitioned as a troopship in the Second World War. At the end of June 1940 she was assigned the task of deporting interned Anglo-Italian and Anglo-German civilians as well as a small number of legitimate prisoners of war to Canada. On 2 July 1940 she was sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland with a large loss of life, 805 people.
Diving & visiting
The wreck's position is 56°30′N 10°38′W.
In the weeks following the Arandora Star's sinking many bodies of those who died were carried by the sea to various points in Ireland and the Hebrides. In the small graveyard of Termoncarragh, Belmullet, County Mayo, Luigi Tapparo, an internee from Edinburgh, and John Connelly, a Lovat Scout, lie buried side by side. Belmullet gardaí received a call from Annagh Head that another body had been found. From a service book on the body, Garda Sergeant Burns identified 27-year-old Frank Carter from Kilburn, London, a trooper in the Royal Dragoons.
A memorial chapel was built in a cemetery in Bardi, home town of 48 of the dead, and an annual commemorative mass is held in the town. A street in Bardi was renamed Via Arandora Star.
Location
- Recorded position: 55.3333, -10.5500 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: North Atlantic Ocean
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article SS Arandora Star (revision 1342485637), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Wreck and remains”, “Memorials”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
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Browse more: Open ocean wrecks · North Atlantic Ocean · Second World War